


Wires

by missherly



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Canonical Character Death, Gay Bucky Barnes, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hydra are dicks, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Memory Loss, Physical Abuse, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Psychological Torture, Putting together universes here okay, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Stucky - Freeform, Wanda Is A Good Bro, memory manipulation, mentions of Deadpool
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 11:59:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7507438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missherly/pseuds/missherly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took the full 8 months since Bucky went under for Steve to convince Wanda. "I'll just mess him up even more," she would say. She still hadn't gotten over the stigma around her powers from the last time she was in Wakanda.<br/>T'Challa and his scientists weren't even close on a cure to combat the vicious mind conditioning HYDRA used to mold the Winter Soldier into what he is. "What he used to be," Steve would correct them. Even Natasha and Sam had finally agreed with Steve, if only to stop seeing him pace in sullen silence in front of Bucky's cryo tank every single day. Anything to see the two boys happy.<br/>Finally after discovering Steve asleep on the cold floor in Bucky's room for the 5th night in a row, Wanda agreed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wires

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Wires by The Neighbourhood  
> Based on the idea that Wanda can help Bucky sort through his abused mind with her mind powers (I don't know who came up with this idea first don't hit me) I'm pretty certain she can if she tried.  
> The two wlll explore 1 or two memories a chapter. Also a mention of Deadpool in there! Cause I'm pretty sure Francis was working on other mutant soldiers to hand over to what remains of HYDRA. I'd like to think Bucky heard about this right before he escaped being The Winter Soldier.

It had been 8 long grueling months since Bucky decided to go under again. During that time, the members of Team Cap were broken out of The Raft and transferred to Wakanda under the gracious protection of King T'Challa. After seeing how badly Steve took Bucky being frozen again, Sam decided to stay with his friend as long as he needed. Steve was extremely grateful for this because, if not for Sam constantly encouraging him and consoling him, he would have hit rock bottom already. He really owed Sam for staying but Sam simply replied with a warm laugh, “It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”  
Clint spent a couple months with the rest of his exiled teammates while T’Challa and Nick Fury organized his family a new safehouse in the countryside of Ireland. He was secretly flown there on a cloaked jet overnight to join his wife and kids where they’ve been living in radio silence since. Scott Lang was lucky enough that he wasn’t as well known as the Avengers because he slipped back into the US under a fake identity with almost no problem.  
Tony had mostly recovered from the betrayal of his teammates, except Barnes, he couldn't forgive Barnes just yet but fixing Rhodey up and defending himself from world governments took up most of his mental energy. Pepper was back into his life and frankly he was still pissy about “The Star Spangled Jackass” as he called him.The unholy bitterness towards the two Super Soldiers didn’t stop Tony from studying the remains of Barnes’s arm he recovered from Siberia. It also didn’t stop him from developing a prototype prosthetic similar in design as the Soviet one Barnes had. He chose not to mention it. Steve hadn’t contacted him since sending him the phone and Tony never replied.  
According to the public Natasha Romanov disappeared in a plane crash almost immediately after the prisoners were freed from Raft. Her plane was shot down by Russians over the pacific in an epic fire fight. Now she took on the alias Scarlett Johansson which didn’t have the same ring as her previous alias, but it would have to do. Natasha met Steve shortly after Clint left Wakanda. When asked how things were going after she stepped off her plane, she responded “Well, the world still hates us,” in a matter of fact tone.  
“Thanks for bringing good news,” Sam’s eyeroll was almost audible.  
“How’s Tony?” Steve inquired from the hangar doorway across the room. His body looked heavy leaning in the door frame and his eyes were sunken in from lack of sleep.  
“Still angry. Haven’t heard much from him.”  
Nat immediately attached herself to Steve after seeing the sorry mess he had become. Steve pretended to be his usual stoic self but he didn’t fool her, or anyone really. People were just too polite to comment on it.  
Sam joined Steve and Natasha in a common room inside the palace, which used to be a meeting room transformed for T’Challa’s hide-aways, to discover the TV playing a movie Sam identified as Forrest Gump but neither person was watching it. Steve was staring blankly at the elaborate painting over the screen with a mournful gaze and Nat was leaning her head against Steve’s large shoulder on her phone scrolling through the latest news articles from all over the world. Sam snatched up the remote and changed the channel, only finding a news station with Bucky’s picture on a story about the “Missing Winter Soldier” and “Are there other soldiers out there like him?” Steve’s brows knitted together and just when he was about to say something, Sam turned it off with a sigh.  
“They just won’t let anything go will they?” Sam slumped into an armchair and rubbed his temples. “It’s been 8 months already. You’d think they’d find some political scandal other than us to talk about.”  
Wanda, who Steve and Sam hadn’t seen in a whole month, suddenly entered and sat in a chair in the corner without a word. An uncomfortable silence spread through the room. Finally, Steve broke it by standing up and wandering outside and down the hall.  
“How many times is that today?” Wanda muttered.  
Sam looked up counting in his head. “Three,” he answered finally.  
“It’s only 2pm,” Nat’s eyes narrowed. “How long has he been doing this?”  
“It’s been getting worse. He used to only visit him twice a day. I’ve caught him even sleeping in there at night,” Wanda replied. She had kept to herself mostly since arriving in Wakanda but she had made it a point to check in on Steve once in a while. She honestly was ashamed to be back in Wakanda since she caused so many people to die.  
“Are you going to do it then? Cause it’s just gonna get worse you know that.” Nat looked up at Sam and then back to Wanda and then back to Sam.  
“Do what?” Nat hadn’t been informed of a plan involving what she assumed was Steve and she felt left out and slightly worried. When Wanda didn’t answer, nat turned on Sam. “Do what?” She asked again but with more force.  
Sam sighed. “Steve thinks that Wanda can fix Barnes’ head so it’s not scrambled up with all that HYDRA bullshit…” Wanda looked away from the piercing glare Nat was throwing at her. “But she’s afraid she’s going to make him worse,” Sam continued glancing over at the young girl. Nat processed this information and considered it. She could understand why Wanda wasn’t confident in going through with this. She wasn’t the most confident person in the world to begin with and also Bucky wasn’t just some depressed guy in need of counseling. He had gone through 75 years of torture and mind conditioning by the worst organization in history and he probably didn’t know where he began and The Winter Soldier ended. Nat couldn’t blame the poor guy for wanting to go back under.  
“I will make him worse,” Wanda cut into Nat’s train of thought, “My powers aren’t meant for altering memories permanently. They aren’t meant for fixing people.” She had stood up and clutched at her necklace against her chest, her voice shaking. “I always mess things up…” Nat and Sam both got up and approached her, but she moved away. Nat started to console her but she put her hand up defensively and her red aura flowed across her palm and into her fingers as a warning. Sam whispered for Nat to leave her alone and Wanda fled to the hallway Steve disappeared down. Steve was on his own with this one.

A week had past since confronting Wanda about treating Bucky. Steve had become even more reclusive than ever, even skipping out on his and Sam’s daily morning runs. Nat and Sam would find their friend sitting in silence staring at walls with no light in his usually dazzling blue eyes. Steve had every right to be sad that he didn’t have Bucky, the Bucky he knew and grew up with, back but this was starting to seriously affect him mentally and physically. The normal 5 meals a day required by his super soldier metabolism went down to two and he was really starting to lose weight. For three nights in a row Steve was found on the cold floor sleeping next to Bucky’s cryochamber; first by Wanda, then Natasha, and then finally Sam who pulled him up off the floor and drug him back up to his bed. Steve tried to protest but he was too tired to even get out of Sam’s grip.  
“Steve you seriously need help man. Look at you! You can’t even fight a regular human off. What if the government came after us? You just gonna cry on them instead of fight?!” Sam was being a bit harsh but Steve was his good friend and dammit he was not going to let him waste away. He couldn’t have imagined what Steve was like when he lost Bucky the first time. At least this time he knew he was alive. Maybe that was worse.  
“You don’t understand Sam. We searched for him for two years. I fought the very core of HYDRA. I rebelled against 116 countries. I fought Tony and almost killed him to keep Bucky safe. And I failed.  
“You didn’t fail, you have him here! He’s safe. He’s in that freezer because he wants to be.”  
“I tried to protect him from HYDRA and I can’t because they’re so far into his head that he doesn’t even feel safe being awake,” Steve was shaking with so much anger and frustration he even surprised himself.  
Nat and Wanda heard the two men yelling and came up to see what was going on. As soon as Wanda entered the room Sam turned on Wanda and pulled her over to sit next to Steve. She tried to move away but Steve caught her by her wrist and made her look at him in the eyes.  
“Are you refusing to help him because you’re afraid to help or because you can’t?” It was a straightforward question that put Wanda in a hard spot.  
“I’ll just hurt him…” she started but Steve interrupted her.  
“You seriously don’t think you can do it? I’ve seen you in action. Your powers are incredible and just because of one incident you’re afraid? We’ve been over this. You saved so many more people by throwing Rumlow in the air than if you left him on the ground. I would have died,” Wanda’s mouth pressed into a thin line because she knew Steve was right.  
“So you saved my life and thousands more. What about what Barton said to you? You stepped out that door so you’re an Avenger like it or not you’re a hero. Hero’s don’t let their self doubt get in the way of what’s right. You proved that by fighting alongside me when we battled Tony.”  
‘There’s the Steve I know’ Sam thought to himself. Steve had that determined sparkle back in his eyes. The look of a real hero.  
Wanda sat in silence for a moment. She had never tried permanently altering someone’s memories. Sure, she had made most of The Avengers see false visions based on their memories, but that wore off. If she didn’t try Steve was going to waste away worrying about his dear friend. So she either messes up Bucky or is responsible for Steve’s descent into madness. Perhaps she shouldn’t think of it this way.  
“What if I make him worse? What if he goes back to The Soldier?” The title almost sounded elegant in her accent.  
“I’m prepared to deal with him if that happens.” His voice was firm. Confident. Steve brought him back from his programming once, he could do it again.  
“You can do this,” Natasha finally chimed in. Sam hummed in agreement.  
“Please?” Steve’s voice was not meant for pleading and Wanda never wanted to hear it again. “Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.” A quote and a confession. Wanda remembered and every word cut into her like glass.  
She sat in thought for a couple of minutes, deliberating on how she was going to fix this wounded soldier’s abused mind. She didn’t think Steve really had a plan and frankly she didn’t know where to begin. The Wakandan scientists were not even close to having a solution to cure the man of his brainwashing so Wanda was his only hope. Sam must have caught onto this and put a hand on her shoulder. Nat joined him on her left. She grimaced at the floor fighting her self doubt one last time before looking up and locking eyes with Steve’s.  
“I will help your friend,” Steve’s entire body lit up like the last 8 months had no effect on him, “But you have to be the one to tell T’Challa.” Steve nodded rapidly at her condition and grasped her hands a little too tight. Nat and Sam’s smile spread from ear to ear seeing Steve happy again.

The next day Steve called a meeting with T’Challa bright and early. Sam, Nat, and Wanda also joined them in the lavish meeting room at the top of the Wakandan palace. They deliberated over a course of action before they unfroze their Super Soldier. She was still unsure about the whole thing but she had faith in Steve. After two hours they all decided on a plan that would take time, but would be the safest for both Bucky and Wanda. She would have to have Bucky’s permission for all of this of course, but Steve was dead certain he would approve.  
They made their way down to Bucky’s room where a team of scientists were waiting on standby for them. Natasha stood close next to Steve to ease his tension while the doctors put in codes and activated programs to start the defrosting process. They had to do it slowly otherwise their patient would get frostbite and the entire 20 minutes process was grinding at his patience. Anxious fingers had balled into fists hearing the final ‘okay’ from the head scientist. He prayed under his breath that Bucky would remember him even though there was no real reason he wouldn’t remember. All four of them waited on baited breath seeing the glass of the chamber slowly rise, letting out a waterfall of white clouds spill onto the floor and over their shoes. The lid clicked all the way open and the mist settled. Long eyelashes fluttered open then closed in defense against the bright lights in the room but found their way open again with a groan. Steve moved forward and undid the straps holding his friend upright and caught him as he fell forward into his arms. Even with his face buried in the blond man’s chest he knew those arms instantly and took in a long breath through his nose. Steve pulled him back so he could see his face and instantly got lost in Bucky Barnes’ silver blue eyes.  
“Bucky?” Steve asked with slight hesitation.  
“Hey Stevie,” his lips curled into his patented grin around the beloved nickname.  
“Good morning.”


End file.
